Affluenza

I read today in the Observer Magazine, that despite being richer than our fellow Brits in the 1950s, we´re much more likely to be miserable, experience a major depression, have a mental illness or develop cancer. How depressing! I belong to the school of thought that believes there are a lot of unhappy folk out there, which is why I inwardly glowed on seeing the beaming smiles on a pack of Hare Krishnas in SoHo last night (to be totally correct, I heard them long before I saw them). The article quoted stats galore - Americans are more likely to be ill than those in all other developed nations in a period of 12 months (26%) - for example. "Why is this, I cried!" Why was my grandma more likely to be content with her tin bath, no inside loo and the experience of eating out limited to fish & chips every other Friday? The thing is, my grandma is an optimist, born and bred. She sees the best in every situation. She´s pleased when it rains because the geraniums were getting parched, she can make a Spam sandwich taste better than anything from Pret, she had a mastectomy and never once complained, "What do I want with breasts at my age!" she said, incredulous at the familial concern cluttering up her normally tidy living room.

You see, I think I know why this generation is miserable, we're fundamentally insecure pessimists who continually fail to see good in others or in most situations that come along in everyday life. We expect too much. My grandma was happy with a pork chop and apple sauce, a week camping in Cornwall every summer and two kids in clothes previously worn by five others on the street. We strive to buy houses we can't afford that we're too busy to enjoy because we're working overtime to pay for the mortgage. We eat at restaurants with menus we can't quite afford because we're too proud to go to the cheap Italian on the corner. We pay for things previous generations would have laughed at - cleaners*, dog-walkers*, shirt-ironing and kitsh furniture from Heals.

This week, I for one am gonna try not to live like a statistic. I'm going to sit by the river and drink cheap wine from a plastic cup, eat a jam sandwich and watch the hazy river floating by. I'm going to take my shoes off and feel the damp earthy coolness between my toes. I'll think of my grandma and I'll be smiling.

* These are examples meant solely to illustrate my story. I have neither, nor a dog for that matter. I'm more of a cat person anyway, and they can look after themselves.